Israel strikes in eye-for-eye reprisals

AN ISRAELI helicopter missile killed a senior member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as he hid in a barn yesterday, and Israeli troops gunned down five other militants, two of whom plotted to ambush settlers.

AN ISRAELI helicopter missile killed a senior member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as he hid in a barn yesterday, and Israeli troops gunned down five other militants, two of whom plotted to ambush settlers.

The army said the helicopter strike - and a brief Israeli army incursion into a West Bank village to make several arrests - foiled attacks against Israelis. Militant Palestinian groups vowed revenge.

Also, after nightfall, two Palestinian policemen were killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers in Qalqilya, one of the four towns Israeli forces are holding, said Israeli military officers.

Palestinian security officials said Israeli forces moved into the town and then withdrew to their previous position.

Reacting angrily to the one-day death toll of six, Palestinian cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman said, "There can be no ceasefire while (Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon's finger is on the trigger."